We're in an explosive era of growth. Thanks to the birth of the internet and our newfound global connectivity, generating a real income online, no matter where you live or what you do, has become a modern-day convenience. Gone are the doldrums of 9-to-5 employment and the necessity to head into a life-sucking corporate job. Today, the so-called "dream" revolves around the lifestyle entrepreneur, able to make money, travel the world and live life to the fullest from anywhere on the planet.
Now, it’s time to plan out your show. If you’re doing an interview-style show, you’ll now want to start getting some guests involved. You can use your existing social network to reach out to people you already know or are connected with on Twitter or Facebook. You can also head to Medium or Amazon to find authors or experts on topics specific to your niche.
Babysitting isn’t just for teens. Everyone from college students to recent retirees can make money watching other people’s children. Word-of-mouth referrals from friends and family are still a great way to get started, but you can also create a profile on Care.com or Sittercity to expand your reach. Note any specialized skills, such as CPR certifications or experience with special needs children, to make yourself more marketable.
Remember the steps from point 2: Make more money, spend less, and invest wisely. Point 3 covered making more money, and this one covers spending less. Make a detailed budget for yourself based on your projected income and your current expenses. Set firm limits for your expenses, and keep a close eye on where most of your money goes--you might be surprised at some of the areas where you waste the most money. Once identified, you can start refining your budget to spend as little as possible, and funnel the rest into a savings or investment program.
Keep in mind though, you don’t need a website to do sponsored content since you can also get paid if you have a lot of social media followers. My wife has a pretty big Instagram following, and she gets all kinds of sponsorships. Not only does she get paid in cash, but we get a lot of free stuff, too. We’ve received free rugs, free lights, and free carpet cleaners. She only promotes things she loves though, so this strategy works really well for her.
Take it seriously. Yes, you’re applying for an online job. Yes, you can do the work in your underwear, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a “real job”. You must treat it as such or they aren’t going to treat you as a serious candidate. You aren’t the only one who wants to work in their underwear. In fact, the competition online is likely higher than it is in your local area.
Now let's finally apply these lessons to comparing different industries or industrial belts within the United States. I mentioned that when I was growing up, Route 128 outside of Boston led the world in productivity for an industrial belt, but Route 128 has now fallen behind Silicon Valley. Since my book "Guns, Germs, and Steel" was published, I've spent a lot of time talking with people from Silicon Valley and some from Route 128, and they tell me that the corporate ethos in these two industrial belts is quite different. Silicon Valley consists of lots of companies that are fiercely competitive with each other, but nevertheless there's a lot of collaboration, and despite the competition there is a free flow of ideas and a free flow of people and a free flow of information between these companies that compete with each other. In contrast, I'm told that the business of Route 128 are much more secretive, and insulated from each other like Japanese milk-producing companies.
We're in an explosive era of growth. Thanks to the birth of the internet and our newfound global connectivity, generating a real income online, no matter where you live or what you do, has become a modern-day convenience. Gone are the doldrums of 9-to-5 employment and the necessity to head into a life-sucking corporate job. Today, the so-called "dream" revolves around the lifestyle entrepreneur, able to make money, travel the world and live life to the fullest from anywhere on the planet.

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